Friday, March 19, 1999
At-risk children may get visits
Aim: to spot development problems
BY SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — Young children in needy families can soon be eligible for home visits from county workers who hope to prevent the onset of developmental problems spawned by poverty, abuse or neglect.
Warren County received $110,000 from the Ohio Department of Human Services last year for the program, called Early Start.
The home visits could start by next month through a partnership of three county agencies. The Warren County Department of Human Services will funnel the money from the state. Warren County Community Services made a bid this month to provide screening services to decide which chil dren and families are eligible.
Staff of the Warren County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities will make the home visits and provide the requested help or counseling.
The program targets children up to age 3 in homes that receive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families from the state. It can help up to 30 families at any given time, said Philip Masten, director of the human services department.
Mr. Masten called the amount of money granted by the state in its last budget “modest.”
“But we feel it fills in the gap,” he said. “This provides services to kids who up to this date have not been able to be served because they were not (classified) developmentally disabled. This is more in terms of the environmental risks of poverty.”
In the past, the state provided money for early intervention only for children who had documented cases of developmental disabilities, said Carolyn Tepe, collaborative coordinator with Kids in Development Services, a branch of Warren County Community Services that will handle the screening if county commissioners approve its bid.
“One of the major components of early intervention is to prevent child abuse and neglect,” she said. “It helps strengthen the support system in the family structure so they don't get stressed and exhibit those behaviors.”
Support could run from counseling to lining up transportation for family members to working with a child with signs of slow development. The other component of the program is establishing ties among families.
“It will connect them to other parents as mentors and build support in the community so when (the program) is over, they still have help,” Ms. Tepe said.
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